Semi-Automatic Magazine and Method of Ammunition Loading

ABSTRACT

A magazine comprises a firing compartment, a spring system, a reservoir compartment, and a gate and is adapted for the semi-automatic loading of ammunition from the reservoir compartment into the firing compartment. The transfer of ammunition to the firing compartment is made possible when the gate is in the open position; alternatively, the gate serves as a wall to separate the two compartments while in the closed position.

This application is converted from U.S. provisional application No. 60/750,397, filed on Dec. 15, 2005

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to spring-piston air guns and ammunition magazines for use therewith. This invention also relates to the method of semi-automatic loading of ammunition in magazines.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Magazines used for containing ammunition are important for normal operation of guns and loading of ammunition into magazines plays an important role in maintaining the fluency and smoothness of gun operation, either in practical applications or for leisure purposes. In spring-piston air guns, the conventional magazines only contain a relatively small amount of ammunition and reloading is a painfully tedious exercise of inserting the ammunition (usually in forms of small beads) into a small orifice one by one. As a result, the fun part of shooting becomes partly obliterated due to the frequency and tediousness by which reloading has to occur.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

In the light of the foregoing background, it is an object of the present invention to provide improved air guns and related magazines.

Accordingly, the present invention, in one aspect, is a magazine comprising a firing compartment, a spring system, a reservoir compartment, and a gate. The firing compartment is used for containing ammunition for firing when the magazine is properly loaded into a spring-piston air gun. The spring system is situated inside the firing compartment and used for positioning the ammunition in a predetermined position in the firing compartment. The reservoir compartment juxtaposes the firing compartment and is used for storing additional ammunition whereas a gate is provided between the firing and reservoir compartments and used for controlling the movement of ammunition between the two compartments. The gate is movable between the open and closed positions. When the gate is in the open position, it allows additional ammunition to be transferred by a user to the firing compartment, whereas the gate in the closed position forms a wall separating the firing and reservoir compartments.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the firing compartment is an elongated chamber and further contains a firing orifice on the first end. The spring system is provided on the opposing second end such that the ammunition can be consecutively aligned along the firing compartment. The ammunition can then be discharged through the firing orifice consecutively upon each firing of the gun under normal operation.

In another preferred embodiment, the magazine is further provided with two pairs of slides running longitudinally between the firing and reservoir compartments. The gate is slidably inserted between the slides such that a user can pull the gate into the open position to allow transfer of ammunition between the two chambers. The user can also push the gate back into the closed position to reform the wall.

In another implementation, the spring system further comprises a spring and a spring head with a spring head notch disposed thereon. In a more preferred implementation, the gate is further provided with a beveled end, a flanged end and a gate notch juxtaposing the beveled end. The beveled end and the flanged end are close to the first end and the second end of the firing compartment respectively. In the preferred embodiment, the gate notch is configured to interact with the spring head notch such that a pulling action on the flanged end of the gate by a user would cause the gate to the open position, and to induce a corresponding compression movement by the spring. The spring movement would create an enlarged space in the firing compartment in which ammunition is allowed to be transferred to the firing compartment.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a spring-piston air gun comprises a gun body, a handle and the above-described magazine. The gun body is provided with a barrel for directing ammunition out of the air gun and contains a spring-piston system for propelling the ammunition through the barrel out of the gun. The handle connects to the gun body and contains a magazine chamber and a magazine lock. The magazine can be loadable into the magazine chamber.

In a further aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for the semi-automatic loading of ammunition in a magazine as described above by first pulling the gate to the open position. The ammunition is then transferred from the reservoir compartment to the firing compartment, and the gate is returned to the closed position upon such transfer. In another preferred implementation, the transferring step is performed when the magazine is loaded inside the gun. In yet another preferred implementation, the transferring step is performed by a tilting motion of the magazine by a user. In a variation of the above method, the reservoir compartment contains a reservoir door such that further steps of opening the reservoir door and filing the reservoir compartment with additional ammunition are provided.

There are many advantages to the present invention. For instance, the improved magazine has the capacity to store a larger amount of ammunition with the equipped reservoir compartment. Thus, the frequency of magazine reloading can be decreased and the smoothness of normal operation, with the fun brought along, can be preserved. In addition, loading of ammunition into the firing compartment is made easy and convenient by the simple manipulation of the gate and tilting motion of the magazine. In one embodiment of the present invention, such loading can also be performed when the magazine is inside the gun.

Another advantage of the present invention is that due to the large opening on the reservoir compartment, a vast amount of ammunition can be filled simultaneously into the reservoir compartment of the magazine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of a magazine without the spring system and the gate for ease of illustration according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a back cross-sectional view across line A-A of the magazine of FIG. 1 according to the same embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view of a magazine showing the gate in a closed position with an empty firing compartment and the reservoir filled with ammunition according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view of a magazine showing the gate in an open position according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of a magazine showing the gate in a closed position with ammunition fully loaded into the firing compartment according to one embodiment of the present invention

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As used herein and in the claims, “comprising” means including the following elements but not excluding others.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 & 2, the first embodiment of the present invention is a semi-automatically loadable magazine 20, found in a spring-piston air gun, containing a firing compartment 22 for storing ammunition (not shown) for firing and a reservoir compartment 26 for storing additional ammunition (not shown). In between the two compartments are two pairs of slides 44 disposed on the two side walls defining a sliding channel 24. As shown in FIG. 1, the firing compartment 22 is an elongated chamber comprising a first end 54 and an opposing second end 56. A firing orifice 58 is situated on the first end 54 through which ammunition (not shown) can be propelled out of the firing compartment 22 and delivered to a spring-piston system consecutively upon each firing of the gun. The reservoir compartment 26, juxtaposing the firing compartment 22, also comprises two ends: an internal end 78 and an external end 80 whereat a reservoir door 48 is disposed.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the functional magazine 20 further comprises a spring system (individual components to be shown separately) and a gate 28. The spring system is attached to the second end 56 of the firing compartment 22 and, in the most preferred embodiment as shown, contains a spring head 38 and a spring 42. In the illustration shown in FIG. 3, the ammunition 46 is shown in the form of beads to illustrate how the beads are consecutively aligned on the spring head 38 for discharging out of the firing compartment 22 during operation. Further, the gate 28, slidably inserted within the sliding channel 24, contains a beveled end 30 and a flanged end 32. In the most preferred embodiment as shown, the gate 28 is further provided with a gate notch 34 next to the beveled end 30 that extends towards the firing compartment 22 for interacting with an oppositely faced spring head notch 40 provided on the spring head 38. In the embodiment as shown in FIG. 3, the gate 28 is in the closed position and acts as a wall to separate the firing compartment 22 and the reservoir compartment 26.

During use, the gate 28 can be moved into the open position, as illustrated in FIG. 4, by a pulling action on the flanged end 32 by a user. Such pulling action on the gate 28 would induce a corresponding contraction movement by the spring 42 through the interaction of the oppositely facing gate notch 34 and spring head notch 40. Consequently, the wall originally created by the closed gate would be pulled away. Furthermore, an enlarged space in the firing compartment 22 will be generated by the contracting spring, so that beads of ammunition 46 can be transferred from the reservoir compartment 26 to the firing compartment 22 through a tilting action of the user. Once the space is filled, the user can return the gate to the closed position in preparation for firing, as illustrated in FIG. 5. The beveled end 30 of the gate assists the gate closing process by facilitating the separation of the beads by cutting a passage through the beads that may be lodged near the sliding channel 24. Once the gate is closed, the elongated shape of the firing compartment defines the position of the beads such that they are aligned consecutively one bead after another on the spring head 38 of the compressed spring 42.

Clearly, the method of semi-automatic loading of ammunition in the magazine as described above can be carried out either when the magazine is loaded inside the gun or with the magazine detached from the gun.

When the reservoir is empty, a user can fill the reservoir compartment 26 with additional ammunition 46 by opening the reservoir door 48 situated on the external end 80 of said reservoir compartment 26. The opening created on the external end 80 is large enough for quick filling of a vast amount of ammunition 46 into the reservoir compartment 26. In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3, 4 & 5, the reservoir door 48 is pulled outwards from the external end 80, followed by flipping the reservoir door 48 out of the base 84 of said magazine 20 to create such opening on the external end 80. As with the gate 28, this reservoir door 48 may be opened and closed with the magazine 20 either attached or detached from the gun.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention are thus fully described. Although the description referred to particular embodiments, it will be clear to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced with variation of these specific details. Hence this invention should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.

For example, the spring is described as being attached to the firing compartment but it is clear that the spring may also be anchored by other means or simply positioned there without attachment. Further, ammunition may be transferred to the firing compartment from the reservoir compartment by means other than tilting the magazine, such as rotating or shaking. The reservoir door is described as similar to a trap door that can be pulled and flipped opened, but it is clear that other closing means may be designed by one of ordinary skilled in the art based on the teaching provided herein. The gate is described as having a beveled end for the purposes of facilitating the closing process, but it is clear that a rectangular end would also fall within the scope of the present invention. The opening mechanism of the gate may also be sliding or screwing. 

1. A magazine comprising: a) a firing compartment for containing ammunition for firing when said magazine is properly loaded into a spring-piston air gun; b) a spring system disposed within said firing compartment for positioning said ammunition in a predetermined position in said firing compartment; c) a reservoir compartment juxtaposing said firing compartment for storing additional ammunition; and d) a gate provided between said firing and said reservoir compartments for controlling the movement of ammunition between said firing and said reservoir compartments, said gate in the open position allows additional ammunition to be transferred by a user to said firing compartment, and said gate in the closed position forms a wall separating said firing and said reservoir compartments.
 2. A magazine according to claim 1 wherein said firing compartment is an elongated chamber having a first end and an opposing second end, said firing compartment further comprising a firing orifice disposed on said first end; and said spring system is disposed on said second end, such that said ammunition may be consecutively aligned along said first end for being discharged through said firing orifice consecutively upon each firing of said gun under normal operation.
 3. A magazine according to claim 1 further comprising two pairs of slides running longitudinally between said firing and said reservoir compartments; said gate slidably disposed between said slides whereby a user can pull said gate into said open position and push said gate into said closed position.
 4. A magazine according to claim 1 wherein said spring system comprises a spring, a spring head and a spring head notch disposed on said spring head; said gate is provided with a beveled end proximate said first end of said firing compartment, a flanged end proximate said second end of said firing compartment and a gate notch juxtaposing said beveled end; said gate notch is adapted to interact with said spring head notch such that a pulling action on said flanged end by a user would cause said gate to slide to the open position and to induce a corresponding compression movement by said spring to create an enlarged space in said firing compartment to allow said additional ammunition to be transferred to said firing compartment.
 5. A magazine according to claim 1 wherein said elongated firing compartment has a first end and an opposing second end and further comprises a firing orifice disposed on said first end; said spring system is disposed on said second end of said firing compartment and further comprises a spring, a spring head and a spring head notch disposed on said spring head; said magazine further comprises two pairs of slides running longitudinally between said firing and said reservoir compartments for slidably retaining said gate therebetween; said gate further comprises a beveled end proximate said first end of said firing compartment, a flanged end proximate said second end of said firing compartment, and a gate notch juxtaposing said beveled end, said gate notch is adapted to interact with said spring head notch such that a pulling action on said flanged end by a user would cause said gate to slide to the open position and to induce a corresponding compression movement by said spring to create an enlarged space in said firing compartment to allow said additional ammunition to be transferred to said firing compartment.
 6. A spring-piston air gun comprising: a) a gun body comprising a barrel for directing ammunition out of said air gun; and a spring-piston system for propelling said ammunition through said barrel out of said gun; b) a handle, connected to said gun body, comprising a magazine chamber and a magazine lock; and c) a magazine, loadable into said magazine chamber, comprising a firing compartment for containing ammunition for firing when said magazine is properly loaded into said spring-piston air gun; a spring system disposed within said firing compartment for positioning said ammunition in a predetermined position in said firing compartment; a reservoir compartment juxtaposing said firing compartment for storing additional ammunition; and a gate provided between said firing and said reservoir compartments for controlling the movement of ammunition between said firing and said reservoir compartments, said gate in the open position allows additional ammunition to be transferred by a user to said firing compartment, and said gate in the closed position forms a wall separating said firing and said reservoir compartments.
 7. A method of semi-automatic loading of ammunition in a magazine comprising: a) providing a magazine comprising a firing compartment for containing ammunition for firing when said magazine is properly loaded into a spring-piston air gun; a spring system disposed within said firing compartment for positioning said ammunition in a predetermined position in said firing compartment; a reservoir compartment juxtaposing said firing compartment and adapted for storing additional ammunition; and a gate provided between said firing and said reservoir compartments for controlling the movement of ammunition between said firing and said reservoir compartments, said gate in the open position allows additional ammunition to be transferred by a user to said firing compartment, and said gate in the closed position forms a wall separating said firing and said reservoir compartments; b) pulling said gate to said open position; c) transferring said ammunition from said reservoir compartment to said firing compartment; and d) returning said gate to said closed position.
 8. A method according to claim 7 wherein said transferring step is performed when said magazine is loaded inside a spring-piston air gun.
 9. A method according to claim 7 wherein said transferring step is performed by a tilting motion of said magazine by a user.
 10. A method according to claim 7 wherein said reservoir compartment comprises a reservoir door, said method further comprising the steps of opening said door and filling said reservoir compartment with additional ammunition. 